Funding for Oyster Recovery Advances

The effort to restore the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay could receive a $3 million boost in federal funding.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said the House earmarked that amount for the project in an appropriations measure, which still must pass through the Senate, a spokeswoman for Hoyer said.

The congressman, who represents all of Southern Maryland, noted that the funding level approved by the House for the Oyster Recovery Project is $2 million above what President Bush requested for fiscal 2005.

"Oyster recovery is critical to the economic and environmental survival of the Chesapeake Bay," Hoyer said.

The restoration project is a joint effort of federal, state and nonprofit agencies, including the Oyster Recovery Partnership.

Hoyer participated last month when that group oversaw the start of the planting of 10 million oysters in a marsh near the Patuxent River as part of a $2.7 million effort to restore natural habitat damaged by the April 2000 oil spill at the former Pepco power plant at Chalk Point in Aquasco.

Calvert Requests Impasse In Talks With Teachers

The Calvert County Board of Education petitioned state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick last week for a formal declaration of "impasse" in the stalled contract negotiations with teachers.

The contract with Calvert teachers expired June 30 with no agreement reached on salary terms for the upcoming school year. The impasse status means that a panel of outside arbitrators would come into the process to help push the negotiations forward. The last time an impasse was reached in Calvert County was in the late 1970s, school officials said.

"The school officials remain hopeful that a resolution can be reached in the near future," said a news release issued by the school system.

The Board of Education said that until a new contract is reached, teachers will be paid according to the 2003-04 salary schedules and step increases.

New Fees at Charles Landfill

New disposal fees took effect this month at the Charles County Landfill, off Billingsley Road in Waldorf.

The Department of Public Facilities issued the following list of new fees:

• Per-ton tipping fee: $65.

• Flat-rate tipping fee for pickup trucks: $12.